Analysis of a Vertical Flat Heat Pipe Using Potassium Working Fluid and a Wick of Compressed Nickel Foam

Geir Hansen, Erling Næss and Kolbeinn Kristjansson
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Geir Hansen: Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kolbjørn Hejes vei 1a, Trondheim 7491, Norway
Erling Næss: Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kolbjørn Hejes vei 1a, Trondheim 7491, Norway
Kolbeinn Kristjansson: Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kolbjørn Hejes vei 1a, Trondheim 7491, Norway

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Heat at high temperatures, in this work 400–650 °C, can be recovered by use of cooling panels/heat pipes in the walls of aluminum electrolysis cells. For this application a flat vertical heat pipe for heat transfer from a unilateral heat source was analyzed theoretically and in the laboratory, with special emphasis on the performance of the wick. In this heat pipe a wick of compressed nickel foam covered only the evaporator surface, and potassium was used as the working fluid. The magnitudes of key thermal resistances were estimated analytically and compared. Operating temperatures and wick performance limits obtained experimentally were compared to predictions. Thermal deformation due to unilateral heat flux was analyzed by the use of COMSOL Multiphysics ® . The consequences of hot spots at different locations on the wick were analyzed by use of a numerical 2D model. A vertical rectangular wick was shown to be most vulnerable to hot spots at the upper corners.

Keywords: aluminum electrolysis cell; heat pipe; compressed nickel foam wick; potassium; hot spot analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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